Three to roll out 4G network in UK01 March 2012
But upgraded network might not be as fast as you hope
Three is the latest company to talk 4G in the UK, but it might not be the 4G you would ideally like to see introduced.
Confused? Let us explain. Basically, the company is 'in the process of finalising plans' for an all-new network, which is said to be rolling out in late summer. That bit is all good. But this isn't the 4G we've seen tested in the likes of London and Cornwall, it's more of a variation of the current 3G technology.
'Let’s be absolutely clear – this isn’t 4G as in Long Term Evolution, or LTE as it’s also known. Instead it’s the leading-edge version of 3G technology – HSPA+ but running on the 42Mbps technical standard, and offering customers twice the speed potential as the 21Mbps technical standard,' Three confirmed in a statement.
So it's fast 3G, a smaller step up than the kind of thing being developed by Everything Everywhere right now. But it is a step up, which has got to be a good thing at the right price, allowing Three's customers access to data services with considerably more speed than the current service.
That's not the end of the story though. Three added it is working on an LTE network too: 'As well as continuing the 42Mbps roll out, we’ll also be running our own Long Term Evolution (LTE) trial in the next few months to get ourselves prepared for this technology, when the spectrum needed to run it is made available.'
Don't hold your breath for that one though, with talk of the end of 2013 for that rollout.
Source: Pocket Lint
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